Safety



W. F. MAHONYI SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 14. I917.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

THE m imam PLANOGRAhII 60., WASHINGTON, I c.

W. F. MAHONY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLiCATlON FILED MAR. 14. 1911.

1,319,598. Patented Oct. 21,1919.

4SHEETSSHEET 2- lllnT' rm MW THE couyifium PurioEA-mi cm. WASHINGTON D c W. F. MAHONY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.I4,19II. 1,319,598. Patented Oct. 21,1919.

4- SHEETSSHEET 3.

m 1 ill@t@ n a A w iltmcooeo 0 4/0 wd/w UNITED s'rarns PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. MAH'ONY, or WASHINGTON, DIs'rnIc'r or COLUMBIA.

SAFETY APPLIANCE non ELEVATORS.

Application filed March 14, 1917-.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. MAHONY,

a citizen of the United Statcs, residing at lVashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Appliances for Elevators, 'of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to elevators, and has particular reference to safety devices therefor.

My invention has as its purpose to provide a safety device for elevators for preventing movement of the elevator car when the shaft door of the floor, at which the car is standing, is in open or partially open position.

With my arrangement, the possibility of an operator setting the car in motion, be fore the door of the shaft opposite which the car is standing is moved into totally closed position, is eliminated, and thus the danger of a person being injured in an attempt to enter or leave the car while it is in motion, or being injured while passing through an open shaft door after the car has left a floor is guarded against.

My improved construction is very simple in structure, efiicient in operation, and may be readily appliedto elevators now in general. use.

The above and other objects of my invention are obtained in the structure described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view through so much of an elevator car and shaft as is necessary to show the application of my invention thereto.

Fig. 2 is a top elevational view of one embodiment of my invention, parts being broken away for purpose of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4; is a vertical sectional view substantially on line el1, Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through a rotatable shaft connected with the hoisting taken mechanism, and shows the shaft in locked position.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of another embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 7 is a front elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 6.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

Serial No. 154,735.

Fig. 8 is 8-8, Fig. 6. v j

Fig. 9 is a view taken on line 9--9, Fig. 8. F lg. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 7, but illustrates another embodiment of my invention.

, Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 10. I

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view of the rear portion of the structure shown in Fig. 11. v

In the drawings, like numerals represent like parts in the several views. Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, which illustrate one embodiment of my invention, 10 designates an elevator car adapted to move in a well or shaft having, at each floor of the building in which it is located, a shaft door, in the present instance, double doors 11 be ing disclosed.

On the bottom of the car is a transverse actuated shaft 12 which carriesat one end a grooved wheel or pulley 13 about which a cable connected to the means for controlling the hoisting mechanism (not shown) passes. Any suitable actuating means for rotating the actuated shaft 12 through the proper angle may be employed, in the present instance, a manually operated lever 14 being disclosed for this purpose.

The parts above described may be of any suitable construction, and in the present disclosure of my invention I have illustrated the same more or less conventionally, as the specific constructions thereof form no part of my invention.

15 designates a support comprising, in the present instance, a channel iron secured by means of one of its flanges to the end surface of the bottom of the car and having its open side substantially flush with the front wall of the car. Secured between the flanges of the support 15 is a vertical post 16 which passes through the sleeve-like projections 17 of a throw'block or trip 18.

The trip 18 comprises a plate or block having at one corner an outwardly projecting nose portion. 19, adapted to be engaged by a member secured to the door when the latter is moved into closed position as will be hereinafter described, and at the adjacent corner a pin or studs20. Between the nose 19 andthe studs 20 is an integral projection 21. which constitutes an abutment against an enlarged view taken on line to the door by any suitable means.

which a pawl 22 is adapted to engage. The pawl 22 comprises a plate pivoted to the projections 23 extending from the opposite sides of the trip just back of the abutment 21. The pawl is located to the same side of the abutment 21 as is the nose 19, and it is normally maintained in position against the abutment 21 by means of a spring 24 secured at its opposite ends to the trip 18, andthe pawl 22, respectively. Secured to the rear vertical wall of the support is a block 25 of suitable resilient material against which the trip is adapted to strike when it is thrown by a closing door.

A lever 26, preferably comprising a tube or pipe-like section, is pivoted at its middle portion on a vertical post 27 which passes through the channel of the support 15. The lever is bifurcated at one end as at 28, and at its opposite or forward end has pair of oppositely disposed projections 29 having longitudinal slots 30 which receive the pin 20 of the trip 18. A plunger 31, slidably mounted in the end of the tubular lever 26, is urged outwardly against the corner of the trip 18 by means of a coil spring 32 which abuts at one end against the post 27 and at its other against the enlarged end or head of the plunger. The tubular projections or sleeves 17 of the trip 18 are grooved or slotted as at 33 (Fig. 3) so as to permit the projections 29 to be moved from one side to the other side of the pivot point of the trip 18. Connected to and fitting between the bifurcated ends of the lever 26 is a link 34-, to which is connected a lever 35, the latter being pivoted at its central portion to a bracket or support 36 depending from the bottom of the elevator or car.

The free end of the lever carries a locking member 37 comprising a plate hav ing the form of a Y, and a rectangular notch 38, at the confluence of the arms 38 of the Y. Secured to the actuated shaft 12 is a. collar 40 having a radially extending flange or fin 41 which, when the elevator is locked against movement, engages at its outer edge in the notch 39 of the locking member 37. The collar 40 is preferably in two parts, held together by means of screws so as to permit the collar to be adjusted longitlulinally of the shaft 12.

Secured to the inside of the shaft door 11 and extending downwardly into the shaft and below the floor of the building is a vertical strip 42 which serves as an abutment adapted to strike and throw the trip 18. The strip 42 is preferably formed of angle iron and is secured, my means of bolts 43, to posts 44, the latter being connected The strip 42 is secured in adjusted position bv means of lock-nuts 45.

It is to be noted that the strip 42 is adjustable to and from a door 11, so as to permit the same to be secured to elevators of various constructions. In some cases, the clearance between the el vator door and the wall of the shaft is considerable, and in others, there is only a slight clearance. when attaching the strip 42 to the door of the elevator shaft, the posts 45 are rotated about the bolts 42-3 until the lower end of the strip 42 is in proper position to engage the trip 18. The lock-nuts 45 are then secured upon the bolts 43 and against the outer ends of the posts 44, and the latter are then socured to the shaft door.

The operation of the embodiment of my invention disclosed in Figs. 1 to 5 will be readily understood from the foregoing description. hen the shaft door is in closed position, the trip and other parts of the mechanism are in the positions shown in Fig. 2, and in this position, the locking menu ber 37 is out of engagement with the flange of fin 41 carried by the shaft 12. The shaft 1 being unlocked, to place the car in mo-- tion, the handle 14 is moved in the proper direction and the shaft 12 is rotated so as to impart movement to the cable about the pulley 13, and the lower ends of the cable being connected to the controlling mechanism for the hoisting means, the latter is put into operation.

When the car is brought opposite the floor of a building and the shaft door of that floor is opened, the strip 42 on the door will strike the pawl 22 of the trip 18, and the latter is rotated about the post 16 from the fiill line position into the dotted line posi t on shown in Fig. 2. The lever 26 is rotated about its pivot and through the link 34 and lever 35. The locking member or plate 37 is moved rearwardly until the fin 41 of the sleeve 40 engages in the notch 39. The shaft 12 is thus locked against rotation so that the operator of the car cannot throw on the power and cause the car to ascend or descend while the door is in open posi .i

tion.

It will be noted that the fingers 38 of the locking member 37 are inclined from the notch 39 so that, in the event the fin 41 is not in correct horizontal position, the inside edges of the fingers 38 will strike the edge of the fin 41 and throw the latter into horizontal position and into a-linement with the notch 39.

lVhen first rotating the trip 18 the pin 20 shown in Fig. 2, by the moving door, and its movement is completed by the spring 32.

Presuming that the door has been opened, and that it is now desired to place the car in motion, the door is moved into closed position, and in so moving, the shoe 42 will strike the nose 19 of the trip 18 and throw the trip in the opposite position to that just described. The strip 42 is in engagement with the nose 19 until the pin 20 of the trip is to the outside of the line passing through the centers of the posts 16' and 27 when the spring 32 will complete the movement of the trip and cause it to strike against the block 25'. By causing the spring to complete the movement of the trip 18, it is not necessary to so adjust the strip 42 that there will be but slight clearance between the strip and the elevator car, and thus the danger of the strip projecting too far into the elevator shaft is eliminated.

The pawl 22 is pivoted to the trip 18, and is held against the abutment 21 by means of the spring 24, so that, in the event the elevator should move from one floor to another floor, and the door at the second floor should have been left open for any reason, the door at this floor could be moved into closed position. In this case, the strip 42 would strike the pawl 22 and swing the same away from the abutment 21 until the strip 42 had passed the pawl 22 when the spring 24 would bring the pawl back into position against the abutment 2]..

In Figs. 6 to 9, I have shown a slightly different arrangement from that just described. In some constructions of elevators the shaft 12 does not extend entirely across the ear, and in other cases, while extending entirely across the car, it is desirable to lock the same adjacent one end for the reason that the ends are always mounted in bearings and strains upon the shafts are re duced to a minimum. In the first embodiment of my invention disclosed in Figs. 1 to 5, the locking member upon the shaft 12 is disclosed as being located intermediate its ends, but it has been found necessary to supply a central bearing for the shaft 12 in this case, so as to prevent the shaft from being broken or badly bent. In the embodiinent shown in Figs. 6 to 9, the locking member upon the shaft 12 is disclosed as being located adjacent the left-hand end of the shaft. 46 designates an L-shaped strip secured to the bottom of an elevator car, To the front leg of the strip 46 is secured the channel iron support 15 in which is pivotally mounted a trip 18 having a nose 19, a pin or studs 20, an abutment 21 and a pivoted pawl. 22 similar in construction to correspondin g parts in the preceding embodiment. The trip 18' is provided with a pair of apertured ears 47 to which is connected, by means of a pin and slot arrangement, a lever 48,

pivoted on the post 49. In the present embodiment, the tubular lever 26 is omitted, and the plunger 31 is itself connected to the pin 20' of the trip. The opposite end of the plunger 31 has a sliding bearing in a block carried by the post 50, rotatably mounted at its ends in bearings on the flanges of the support 15. A spring 32 surrounds the plunger and abuts at one end against the block or post 50.

Slidably mounted in bearings in brackets 51 depending from the underside of the rearwardly extending leg of the L-strip 46 is a reciprocating rod 52 connected at its forward end to the end of the lever 48 by means of a slot and pin arrangement 53.

The rod 52 carries a locking member comprising a depending finger 37 having, adjacent its lower end, a notch 39 which is adapted to receive the outer end of the flange or finger 41 carried by a sleeve 40 fixed to the shaft 12. The finger 37 is preferably formed of two parts, one of the parts having a slot 54 through which bolts 55, carried by the other part, extend. The finger 37 is integral with the sleeve 56 which is adjustable longitudinally of the rod 52. By this construction, it will be noted that the finger .37 may be adjusted vertically or horizontally so that my improvement may be applied to elevator cars in which the actuating shaft 12 is at various positions on the bottom of the elevator.

With the construction just described, when moving the doorinto open position, that is to the right, referring to Fig. 6, the strip 42 will strike the pawl 22 to partially throw the trip 18, and after the pin 20 has passed the center line passing through the posts 16 and 50, the spring 32 will complete the movement of the trip. The rod 52, due to the lever 48, is moved longitudinally and rearwardly, and the finger 37 is thereby moved from the full line position to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 8, so that the finger 41, fixed to the shaft 12, will engage in the notch 39, and the shaft be main tained against rotation.

When the door 11 is moved into closed position, the strip 42 will engage the nose 19 and the rod will be moved outwardly so as to withdraw the locking plate 37 from the finger 41.

In Figs. 10 to 12, I have shown a structure which is very similar to that disclosed in the preceding embodiment, but in this embodiment the shaft 12 is engaged by the locking member adjacent the right end of the shaft. The trip 18' is similar to that shown in Figs. (3 to 9, but in place of connecting the lever 48 to the cars 47, I have shown the plunger 31 as being secured to these cars. A lever 56 pivoted at its center to a post 49 is connected to the pin 20 and between the opposite end. of the link 56 and. the rod 52 is an additional lever 57 The latter lever is pivoted by means of a slot and pin arrangement 58 intermediate its ends. I have shown in Fig. 12, the finger 37 as comprising a single part.

lVh-at I claim is:

1. In a safety device for elevators, the combination of a car, a door therefor, a retatable shaft on said car, a trip on said car, a tubular lever connected to said trip, a plunger within the bore of said lever, a spring in said lever urging said plunger against said trip, a second lover, a locking member on said second lever, a link between said tubular member and said second memher, and an abutn'lent on said door for par-' tially throwing said trip, the arrangement being such that said spring is adapted to complete the movement of said trip after said abutment has left said trip.

2. In a safety device for elevators, the combination of a car, a door therefor, a rotatable shaft on said car, a channel iron support on the bottom of said car, a post in said support, a trip pivoted to said postfa second post in said support, atubular lever pivoted to said second post, a pin and slot connection between one end of said lever and said trip, a plunger within the bore of said lover, a spring within said lever interposed between said plunger and said second post for urging said plunger against said trip, a second lever, a locking member on said second lever and adapted to engage said shaft, a link between said tubular lever and said second lever, and an abutment on the door for partially throwing said trip, the arrangement being such that after the tubular lever is moved by said abutment past the line of centers of said posts, said spring will complete the movement of said trip.

3. In a safety device for elevators, an abutment, posts for said abutment, bolts on said abutment in screw-threaded engagement with said posts, lock-nuts on said bolts, and means for securing said posts to a door or the like. 1

.4. In a safety device for elevators, the combination of a car, mechanical means on said car for starting and stopping the same, a door for said car, a locking member carried on the bottom of the car for engagement with said starting and stopping means, a channel arm support having one of its flanges secured to the bottom of the car and having its open side adjacent to the edge of the car and facing outwardly, a vertical post passing through the support with its oppo site ends fixed to the flanges thereof, a trip rotatably carried by said post and having two projecting arms each of which are alternately engaged by the door during its open ing and closing movement, a second post spaced from the first post and passing through and carried by said support, a lever pivotedly carried by the second post and having one end connected to said trip, an. abutment on said door for engaging said trip when opening and closing the door and positively throwing said trip, a spring within said support and associated with the trip so as to complete the throw of said trip after the abutment has been moved out of engagement with the trip, and a connection between the other end of the lever and said locking member so that the locking member is moved into and out of engagement with said starting and stopping means when the trip is thrown in opposite directions.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM F. MAI-IONY. Witnesses H. P. HOWARD, D. M. SHREVE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five-cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

